Vagrant
A tramp or homeless person.
Vehicle
Any thing that is designed to transport persons or objects.
A bicycle has been held to be a vehicle.
Vendor
The seller; the person selling.
Venue
This has the same meaning as in everyday English except
that in a legal context it usually refers specifically
to the location
of a judicial hearing. For example, if a criminal case has
a very
high media profile in a particular city, the "venue" may
change to another city to ensure objective witnesses (i.e. that
would not have been spoiled by media speculation on the crime).
Verba fortius accipiuntur contra proferentem
Latin: a principle of construction whereby if words of a
contract are ambiguous, of two equally possible meanings,
they should
be interpreted against the author of the words and not
against the
other party.
Verdict
The decision of a jury. In criminal cases, this is usually
expressed as "guilty" or "not guilty".In a civil case,
the verdict would be a finding for the plaintiff or for the defendant.
Veterans Law
the area of law that assists former members of the armed
forces.
Vicarious liability
When a person is held responsible for the tort of
another even though the person being held responsible
may not
have done anything
wrong. This is often the case with employers who
are held vicariously liable for the damages caused by
their employees.
Videlicet
Latin for "to wit" or "that is to say." "Viz.",
which is the abbreviation of videlicet, is much more commonly
used. It is often found in legal documents to advise that what
follows provides more detail about a preceding general statement.
For example: "The defendant committed adultery; viz., on
April 15th, at approximately 10:30 pm, he had sexual intercourse
with Ms Jane Doe."
Vir
Latin: man or husband. Vir et uxor censentur in
lege una persona is an old (and long abandoned
in most
countries) legal principle
meaning that man and wife are considered to
be one person in law.
Vis
An abbreviation of the Latin word videlicet.
Short for "namely" or "that
is to say."
Visitation
the right of a non-custodial parent to visit
or spend time with his or her children
Void or void ab initio
Not legally binding. A document that is
void is useless and worthless; as if it
did not
exist.For example,
in many countries,
contracts
for immoral purposes are said to be "void":unenforceable
and not recognized by the courts. A good example is a contract
to commit a serious crime such as murder.
Voidable
The law distinguishes between contracts
which are void and those which are voidable.
Some
contracts have such
a latent
defect
that they are said to be void (see definition
of "void" above).
Other have more minor defects to them and are voidable at the
option of the party victimized by the defect. For example, contracts
signed by a person when they are totally drunk are voidable by
that person upon recovering sobriety.
Voir dire
A mini-hearing held during a trial on
the admissibility of contested evidence.
For
example, a defendant
may object to
a plaintiff's
witness. The court would suspend the
trial, immediately preside over a
hearing on
the standing of the
proposed witness, and
then resume the trial with or without
the witness, or with any restrictions
placed on the testimony by the judge
as a result of the voir dire ruling.
In a
jury trial, the
jury would
be excused
during
the
voir dire.
Volenti non fit injuria
Voluntary assumption of risk. A defence
in tort that means where a person
engages in
an event
accepting and aware
of the risks
inherent in that event, then they
can not later complain
of, or seek compensation for an
injury suffered during the event.
This
is used most often to defend against
tort actions as a result of a sports
injury.
Voluntary Acknowledgement Of Paternity
an acknowledgement by a man, or
both parents, that the man is
the father
of a child,
usually provided
in writing
on
an affidavit
or form
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